Virgil van Dijk had heavy criticism for referee Michael Oliver after Liverpool's final Merseyside derby at Goodison park descended into chaos.
Liverpool were just seconds away from collecting all three points against Everton when James Tarkowski sent a volley into the back of the net to rescue a point for the hosts. The equalizer came in the 98th minute of a back-and-forth, hotly contested Merseyside derby that finished with a 2–2 draw.
Tensions quickly boiled over after the final whistle. Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucouré nearly came to blows after the Liverpool man confronted Doucouré for provoking the traveling supporters. In the blink of an eye, both teams came together and had to be physically separated by referees and security.
Speaking with TNT Sports after the match, Van Dijk did not hold back his criticism of the officials.
"I think the referee had a big part in the game, in terms of certain challenges were given as fouls and similar [fouls] weren't," the Dutchman said. "The referee did not have the game under control, in my opinion. I said it to him."
Van Dijk also stated that Everton's equalizer came over three minutes after the allotted stoppage time, which was five minutes. There was a lengthy pause during stoppage time, though, due to a clash of heads between Carlos Alcaraz and Jarrad Branthwaite.
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"I think Doucouré wanted to provoke our fans," Van Dijk continued. "I think that is what I saw and Curtis didn't think it was the right thing to do. And then, obviously, you know what happens if there is a little tussle."
Oliver showed four red cards after the final whistle. Both Jones and Doucouré received second yellow cards, while Arne Slot and his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff, were shown straight red cards after a heated discussion with Oliver.
The final result saw Liverpool's lead atop the Premier League increase to seven points while Everton extended their current unbeaten run to four matches.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk Blames Referee for Merseyside Derby Brawl.
